Wine blog: "But I don't like Chardonnay"

Chardonnay’s – their smell is as intense as a rich red and the depth of the flavour just makes your mouth smile as the buttery yet citrus flavours slide down

Back in London in 2009, the time I was dating with my now wife Emma, we were at dinner with friends in a fabulous French restaurant, Le Café Du Marché, (our local and regular as we lived just around the corner). As had become the norm, I selected the wine for dinner.

I decided to take “a risk” (...as much as a good Burgundy wine is, to say the least, a safe territory) and selected a Mersault.

I have always enjoyed deep Chardonnay’s – their smell is as intense as a rich red and the depth of the flavour just makes your mouth smile as the buttery yet citrus flavours slide down.

However, my wife has always said “I don’t like Chardonnay – full stop”. She wasn’t open to trying as she assumed all Chardonnay’s have a deep oak flavour and not always well balanced, like
many of the young Chardonnay’s are known.

So if she wasn’t prepared to try, I had to trick her!

Back to the restaurant and the wine arrives. Wine is poured and the lovely rich colour surrounding the glass looked very promising. My wife smells the wine – “oh, this has a nice
nose” she says before returning to our friends to continue the conversation. Dinner carries on and we finish the bottle so I suggest:

Max: shall we get another?

Emma: Yes, that was really nice, what was it?

Max: Mersault

Emma: I’ll have to remember that for next time

Max: It’s easy to remember, it’s a chardonnay!

I remember the shocked look on her face, “but how can it be, I don’t like Chardonnay”. And so, over another bottle we had a long conversation about Burgundy White Wines and now she is
converted.

About Max

Max is Duck & Truffle's wine specialist. He has more than 25 years experience in Relais & Châteaux and Michelin-starred restaurants across Europe and the Far-East. Thanks to
his travelling he is multi-lingual in 5 languages (Italian, English, French, German and Spanish - plus a little Japanese!) and has a passion for food and wine.

"I've always been surrounded by wine - I grew up on a vineyard in Piedmont, North-West Italy and now live in the heart of the Dordogne surrounded by
Bergerac wines. I've had the opportunity to taste and visit some of the best, and also lesser known vineyards of these regions. As well as living in
and around vineyards, I've worked in the food and wine industry for over 25 years and passed a sommelier course in Italy. In 2016, I changed my profession and no longer work in
restaurants giving me more time to share my wine passion through Duck & Truffle".